Alicia Masters
Alicia Masters is the Thing's blind girlfriend and a gifted sculptress. History Early life When Alicia Masters was a child her mother ran away because she was terrified of her husband (Alicia's step father), who was a criminal known as the Puppet Master, and for unknown reasons she left Alicia with her step father never to return. Alicia eventually lost her sight and became a very gifted sculptress. In the absence of her sight Alicia gained a unique ability to sense the emotional state of others. Later life Meeting the Fantastic Four Puppet Master continued to care for Alicia into her adult life but he appeared to only have contempt for her. When Puppet Master learned of the Fantastic Four he created a clay sculpture of the Thing which put him under mind control and Puppet Master ordered Thing to come to his home. When Thing arrived he was greeted by Alicia who was curious as to why he would not talk to her. Alicia could also sense the sadness and nobility within the Thing. However, unknown to the Puppet Master the Invisible Woman had followed them. Alicia was able to sense her presence and Puppet Master released sleeping gas into the room. Puppet Master was then able to use his makeup skills to make Alicia look like the Invisible Woman. Puppet Master then sent Alicia and the Thing to the Baxter Building so that Thing could kill Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch. Mister Fantastic was able to stop the Thing and Alicia then pulled off her blonde wig revealing to the others that she was not really the Invisible Woman. Alicia then went on to ask the others who they were and what she was doing there. After the Fantastic Four defeated the Puppet Master he was able to escape. Mister Fantastic was able to neutralize his mind control clay but realized that in case of emergencies he would have some clay set aside. The Fantastic Four then realized that this could mean that Alicia would be in danger so they went to help her. At that moment Puppet Master went back to his house where Alicia was and revealed that he had one last puppet which was of him as king of all the world. Alicia realized that her stepfather was insane and grabbed the puppet from him. During their struggle the Puppet Master accidentally fell through a window and disappeared. The Fantastic Four then arrived and the Thing comforted Alicia. Shortly after this Alicia Masters and the Thing began to date. Silver Surfer and the Coming of Galactus When Galactus came to Earth he intended to to absorb the planets life energy into his own body to keep himself alive. In the process this would have caused all life on Earth to die. Galactus's herald, the Silver Surfer, fought the Fantastic Four and during the battle the Thing used the Silver Surfer's surfboard to knock him off the top of a skyscraper which knocked him out. When the Silver Surfer awoke he heard someone playing beautiful music on a piano. As he went into the apartment where the music was coming from he discovered that it was Alicia Masters that was playing the piano. As Silver Surfer entered Alicia's living room she knew that he was there and she told him that she wasn't afraid because she sensed goodness in him. Silver Surfer and Alicia then introduced themselves to one another. Alicia then showed Silver Surfer a sculpture she made of the Thing. The Silver Surfer noticed that even though she was without sight she could see into the souls of others and see the goodness in everything. Silver Surfer then asked Alicia if all humans shared her gifts. Alicia replied that she was not very special but whenever she gets up in the morning and feels the sun on her face she is very glad to be alive. After meeting Alicia the Silver Surfer learned that all life is precious. Silver Surfer then approached Galactus and begged him to spare the Earth and said that he would find him another world, one where no innocent lives would be lost. However, Galactus refused and the Silver Surfer turned against him. Silver Surfer was able to distract Galactus long enough until the Human Torch returned with a weapon called the Ultimate Nullifier, which was the only weapon in the universe capable of killing Galactus. Realizing he was beaten Galactus spared the Earth and promised never to return. Also for the Silver Surfer's betrayal he placed an invisible barrier around the planet which the Silver Surfer could not pass, trapping the Silver Surfer on Earth. Galactus then left the planet. As Silver Surfer flew off Thing asked Alicia if she thinks they will ever see him again. Alicia then answered that she believes they will and that there is something about Silver Surfer that gives her hope. Friends in need After the Fantastic Four lost their powers in a fight with Doctor Doom, Alicia took Ben Grimm to see her lawyer friend, Matt Murdock. Alicia knew that if any of the Fantastic Four's enemies found out that they lost their powers they would be in danger. Alicia asked Matt for advice. Matt Murdock then told them that he might be able to help. However, Ben interrupts him and says that he can't be any help to the Fantastic Four because he is blind. As Ben walks out of the room Alicia apologizes for what Ben said to him. Matt Murdock replies that it's alright and that sometimes blind people see things more clearly than those with sight. Before Alicia leaves the room Matt tells her that he has a friend that can help (he is talking about his Daredevil persona). Later one night the Fantastic Four was attacked by Doctor Doom who had taken over the Baxter Building. Murdock as Daredevil then came to their rescue. Mister Fantastic then says that if he can get to his laboratory he might be able to use some equipment to restore their powers. Daredevil then showed up and volunteered to distract Doctor Doom while they snuck into the lab. When Daredevil began to fight Doom the Fantastic Four were able to get into Reed's lab and restore their powers. The Thing then defeated Doctor Doom who later returned to Latveria. The Frightful Four Thing was later captured by the Frightful Four and their leader, Wizard, used a device to place the Thing in a hypnotic trance. Several days later Alicia visits the other members of the Fantastic Four and tells them that she has not heard from Ben in days. The Invisible Woman then tells Alicia that Thing left for her place last night. Alicia began to think the worst, However, at that moment the Fantastic Four received a message from Thing telling them to meet him at a warehouse. Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and Alicia then arrive at the warehouse and Alicia was told to stay in the Fantsticar while they looked around. When they get inside the warehouse they are ambushed by the Frightful Four. Thing then came out and attacked the Fantastic Four and Mister Fantastic in particular. When Thing grabbed Mister Fantastic he was about ready to kill him until Alicia walked in and told Thing to think about what he was doing. Alicia was then grabbed by Medusa. The Wizard taunted hing telling that it was Reed's fault that he was turned into an ugly monster. However, Alicia tells Thing that he is not ugly. Alicia's words are enough to snap Thing out of his trance and he then saves Alicia from Medusa and defeats the Frightful Four. Thing vs. the Hulk While in the park at night Thing captures some thugs who stole Alicia's purse. The thugs begin to scream and this wakes up the Hulk who is sleeping in the park. Hulk then confronts Thing and tells him to be quite. The two of them then begin to fight. A few minutes later Alicia Masters runs up to Hulk and asks him to please stop. Hulk then leaves thinking that he does not have any friends. Hulk then leaves the two of them alone. Sometime later Hulk is confronted by Doctor Doom who manipulated him into thinking that the Fantastic Four stole his friend, Rick Jones. The Hulk then attacked the Thing. During their battle the Thing collapsed and everyone believed that he had died. Hulk then said that Doctor Doom told him that the Fantastic Four stole his only friend, Rick Jones. Alicia Masters then walked up to Hulk and told him that Doom was a bad man. Doctor Doom then arrived and Hulk fought him. Doctor Doom then got in his air ship but the Hulk followed after him. Alicia then cried over the Thing's dead body. However, it was revealed the Thing was actually alive. The two of them then embraced each other. Non-canon history Several years later the Puppet Master returned. At that time Thing and Human Torch were helping Alicia Masters with one of her art exhibits. Puppet Master then used his special clay to sculpt the image of Thing and Human Torch and took over their mind. Spider-Man was able to snap them out of the Puppet Master's mind control and the three heroes teamed up to defeat the Puppet Master. Alicia Masters was then able to continue with her art exhibit. Powers Alicia Masters is an empath. This allows her to sense the emotional state of others and whether they are good or evil. She gained this ability after the loss of her sight and it became her new fifth sense. Appearances 'Fantastic Four: The Animated Series' *The Origin of the Fantastic Four, Part 1 *The Origin of the Fantastic Four, Part 2 *Now Comes the Sub-Mariner *The Silver Surfer and the Coming of Galactus, Part 2 *Mole Man *Behold the Negative Zone *The Silver Surfer and the Return of Galactus *And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them *The Inhumans Saga, Part 1: And the Wind Cries Medusa *Worlds Within Worlds *To Battle the Living Planet *Nightmare in Green In the comics She was born Alicia Reiss, the daughter of Jacob and Marcia Reiss. As a child she grew up loving to paint and picked up quite a talent for it. Her father (who was a scientist) worked with Phillip Masters and used clay from Phillip's homeland of Transia in their research. When Jacob caught Phillip trying to sabotage the factory they worked in they fought and Phillip pushed Jacob into a vat of radioactive clay which caused the factory to explode. The explosion killed Jacob and Phillip was thrown free from the blast. When Phillip recovered he found Alicia and Marcia waiting for Jacob outside. While the explosion did not harm Marcia it caused Alicia to go blind. Phillip told Alicia and Marcia the explosion was an accident and kept the truth that it was really a murder hidden from them for many years. Sometime later Jacob married Marcia and both she and Alicia changed their last name to Masters. Years later tragedy struck again when Marcia died from radiation poisoning that she contracted from the exploding factory that killed her husband years earlier. Alicia then moved to New York City with her stepfather, Phillip, and she studied at a special school for the blind. Several years later Alicia met the Fantastic Four and they learned that the Puppet Master planned to use his puppets to take over the world. When Alicia learned of this the Puppet Master tripped over Alicia's hand and seemingly fell to his death. In Fantastic Four # 48-50 (March - May, 1966) when the Silver Surfer first comes to Earth, Alicia convinces him to defy Galactus who planned on absorbing all life energy on Earth. After the Thing chose to say on an alien planet where he could change back to human form Alicia fell in love with the Human Torch and they got married. The Thing then returned to Earth to unhappily attend their wedding. However, several years later this was retconned and it was revealed that Alicia was really a Skrull named Lyja and that the real Alicia was in suspended anmation. The real Alicia was then revived by the Fantastic Four. Alicia later fell in love with the Silver Surfer and traveled with him through space in a armored suit that allowed her to see energy signatures and take a more proactive role. After the events of the Civil War comic Alicia designed a memorial for Captain America who had been assassinated by Crossbones. Captain America was later brought back to life through the use of time travel. Also after the events of the Secret Invasion story line Alicia is made part of a support group of people who were replaced by the Skrull's. Trivia *Alicia Masters was voiced by Pauline Arthur Lomas in Fantastic Four: The Animated Series. *Alicia Masters only appeared in issue six of the Adventures of Spider-Man comic book but did not appear in the Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Category:Characters exclusive to the Adventures of Spider-Man comic book series Category:A-Z Category:Supporting characters (Comics)